This article contains fan speculation.There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article.

The map of Japan showing the four main Japanese Pokémon regions.

The designs of five of the major Pokémon regions—Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova—are strikingly similar in geography and demographics to regions in the real world, and sometimes even officially stated to be based on certain locations. The first four regions are based on smaller regions in Japan, while Unova is based on the New York metropolitan area.

Underneath the water's surface, natural rock formations were thought to be artificially created.

Sinnoh

Sinnoh has been said to be an island like Hoenn, rather than a peninsula. It is based on the northernmost major island of Japan, Hokkaido. Part of Sakhalin (Japanese: 樺太 Karafuto) and Kunashir Island (Japanese: 国後島 Kunashiri Island), territories which are in dispute between Russia and Japan, are also included.

Unova

A comparison of Unova to New York

Unova has been said to be significantly distant from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Instead of being based on an area of Japan, Unova is based on the Manhattan area of New York City, and also parts of eastern New Jersey.

Landscape

While the above locations are meant to correspond to the different regions of Japan, great liberties were taken with the design of their landscape. Some of the designers have admitted to drawing inspiration from real-world locations outside Japan, especially with locations shown in Pokémon movies.

Hollywood, as most would suggest upon first seeing it, is based on Hollywood, the most well-known district of Los Angeles, California. In the dub, it is directly stated that it is located in California.

While not mentioned specifically, Pastoria has some similarities with Boston and the surrounding area. A good portion of the city is built on fens, there are multiple national parks in the suburbs of outside the city, specifically in towns like Duxbury, Massachusetts and Marshfield, Massachusetts.

A village in the eleventh movie Giratina and the Sky Warrior, which was nearly destroyed by a glacier, is based on a town in Norway, which is threatened by the possibility of the mountain eroding into the fjord.

In The Evolution Solution, Meowth says, "Keep digging till you hit China!" to Jessie and James, who were digging for clam shells.

Parasect's Stadium and FireRed Pokédex entries mention that its spores are used in medicine in China.

Ponyta's Stadium Pokédex entry mention that it can clear the Eiffel Tower (Tokyo Tower in the original Japanese version) in one leap. Also, its FireRed entry says that it can clear Ayers Rock in one leap.